Banana and Vanilla Pudding Recipe

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t like sweets?

I adore sweets! My love affair with sweets started early on, when I was still a kid. By the time I was 13, I used to prepare sweets and bake cakes. For years that was all I did in the kitchen!

I like to try new recipes and to experiment with preparing my own versions. I would see a picture in a magazine and try to replicate it at home. Today’s dish is one of those experiments. I saw a picture of various cup sweets in a magazine, they looked amazing so I decided I had to come up with my own versions. I now have a few yummy combinations in my recipe book.

The banana and vanilla pudding cups are very creamy. They are the kind of dessert that is very presentable and appeals to all. They are especially pleasing in the summer when you crave for something cold and sweet.

With four simple ingredients you prepare these sumptuous cups. By their looks and taste, nobody will guess how easy they are to put together!

Fattet Magdous Recipe فتة المقدوس

During my engagement, one of our favorite restaurants was Al-Zuwadeh restaurant in the nearby small town of Fuhais.  My fiancé and I will go there all the time and enjoy the delicious home made food, especially the different kinds of fatteh. But our favorite was their Fattet Magdous.

When we got married, I decided to try preparing Fattet Magdous at home. So I started asking friends and relatives for recipes. I cooked it several times following different recipes and it used to turn out well, but not exactly like the Fattet Magdous we loved at Al-Zuwadeh! Then one night we were invited to dinner at our Lebanese friend’s house, and she had prepared Fattet Maqdous. Her Fatteh was delicious!! It tasted exactly like the one we loved! I didn’t leave that night before I had her recipe for Fattet Magdous in my hand! That night, I discovered that the trick to a great Fattet Maqdous, is adding sumac and basil which give it a heavenly taste.

Now, I am literally the Fattet Magdous expert in both my, and my in-laws family. Whenever anyone has a party, they ask me to prepare it, and even after all these years every time I prepare Fattet Magdous, it brings back fond memories of our engagement days, of lovely times listening to great music and enjoying a lovely evening with my handsome husband. 

Ara’yes (عرايس باللحمة) Recipe

Ara’yes or Arayes are grilled pita bread sandwiches stuffed with minced meat. Arayes are very popular in the Levant region. These crispy meat sandwiches are very easy to prepare and are a great crowd pleaser. I frequently prepare Arayes when I have guests coming over as they are the perfect finger food that everybody loves.

The word Ara’yes in Arabic is the plural word for Arous, meaning bride. I always wondered about the name and thought it a funny name for a food. while I was preparing to write this recipe I did some research to try to find out where it got its name … but couldn’t find anything! If you have any of the history surrounding the name “Arayes” I hope you will share it with us in the comment section I am really curious!

The traditional Arayes recipe calls for minced lamb meat, but you can use beef or a mixture of beef and lamb. Personally I prefer the mixture.

Ara’yes can be baked in the oven, grilled on the barbeque, or toasted in a sandwich toaster. I have heard that some people fry it in a pan with oil, I haven’t tried that and think it will be way too greasy and unnecessary.

Ara’yes are delicious eaten with hummus or with Aryan… a match made in heaven. I hope you enjoy eating them … just beware not to devour them while still very hot or you will end up with a burnt tongue! I am not joking!  As the Ara’yes are baking in the oven you will be taken by the lovely aroma that will fill your house and play with your senses. It will make you feel very hungry and keen on eating them as soon as they are out of the oven. I warned you, the rest is up to you!

Yogurt Chutney Recipe

Chutnies are a basic part of Indian cuisine and very few meals are complete without it! They add flavor and zest to any meal and turn it from ordinary to wow. There are various types of chutney from spicy to tangy to sweet. They come in wet or dry form and use different types of fruit and vegetables plus spices.

Before the spread of modern-day electric blenders, women used stones to mash their chutney and according to our Indian guard, the taste was unbeatable. I normally serve the yogurt chutney with the Biryani recipe I posted on dish-away.

Biryani Recipe

Biryani is my favorite Indian dish! I never skip ordering it whenever we are at an Indian restaurant. For years I kept trying to prepare it at home with recipes provided by friends or books, but they never tasted like the Biryani I love! But I was determined I will learn how to do it; I am not a person that gives up easily.

My strategy was to find an Indian woman and learn it from her. Living in the United Arab Emirates, which has a large number of Indians, I thought that was an easy task. So I set about asking my friends if they had an Indian friend who could teach me… my efforts were useless, I couldn’t find anyone. My next attempt was to try to find an Indian lady in the market, I would go to the supermarket or grocery and start scanning all visitors… result? Unsuccessful. I couldn’t believe it, this was turning into mission impossible!

Then one evening as my husband and I were returning from dinner, we were greeted by our Indian guard and I had an idea… just by the look in my eyes, my husband knew what I was about to do and told me “you are crazy!” But my mind was set, and I asked him “do you know how to cook biryani?”

You cannot imagine my feelings at that time. This action may seem very normal in many parts of the world, but in our culture it is very much out of the norm. Every cell in my body was flushing with anxiety, if I was a Christmas Tree I would probably have lit the whole neighborhood. But all my anxiety disappeared when he answered “sure madam.” Upon hearing that I quickly asked him (before my courage disappeared) “will you teach me?”

This is how I learnt to cook the best biryani ever, even better than the one you get at restaurants. He even thought me how to cook many other Indian dishes that we enjoy at home. As you are preparing this dish you will be taken by the aroma of the spices that will fill your house… heavenly, especially if you ground your spices just before using them.

I hope you try this recipe, you will love it!